Our Cards
by rockababy
Summary: Jace and Clary are secretly yearning for each other, but can they ever escape the fact that they're brother and sister, and what happens if they decide to throw caution to the wind and just go with the flow? JacexClary fanfic
1. Chapter 1

_Clary_, Jace thought, _why is it_ _Clary?_

It had been two months since the event on Valentine's ship, and brother/sister communication had been dwindling ever since the episode at Taki's. To Jace that had been the day that his heart was ripped out, and even though he knew it was what was best for them, it had been one of the hardest things he had ever had to do.

Jace and Clary had talked, and often, but the conversation was always strained, as if they were tip-toeing around each other, afraid that they would upset some sort of unspoken barrier.

Jace had tried to deny the truth to himself numerous times, but whenever he heard her laugh or saw her smile there was a strange feeling in his stomach. It was affection, and Jace had to admit, not the brotherly type.

_Figures, I have spent so long pissing people off that now my feelings have taken that as their cue to love the worst person imaginable_. He was even more annoyed when he realised that if his father were here he probably would have been laughing at the whole situation and that chaos that ensued from the forbidden feelings. _I bet that you planned this, and I wouldn't be surprised if you did, after all you deal in everything else that is sick and twisted,_ Jace shouted in his mind, yearning to be able to voice his opinions, not just on Valentine, but on Clary as well.

Jace almost jumped when he heard a voice inside his head saying,_ I didn't plan this, your love is your own through and through, but I love how this all turned out, if the Clave ever found out I wouldn't be the only exile in the family, I would have my two children here along with me, there for every step of the journey towards a cleaner world. We can use the time to bond._

Jace knew that the voice inside of his head was just his imagination, but he couldn't help but turn around and stare around the room to make sure that he wasn't displaying anything to anyone. He glanced around the room, taking in all the small details at once, the whole in upholstery of the chair, the way that nothing had been dusted for weeks, but these things were bound to happen when you let a group of teenagers live by themselves for extensive periods of time. To be fair ever since Maryse and Robert had returned home they had put more effort into making the house look nicer, even if it was just to escape a harsh scolding from Maryse, whom they learnt years ago hated to have a dirty house.

The sense of familiarity that he gained from gazing around the room in which he had lived most of his life made him sleepy, and only by looking in the mirror and seeing the bags under his eyes did he realise how little sleep he had been getting. Most shadow hunters needed only a small amount of sleep, but Jace hadn't been getting anything more than a couple of hours each, night for he had been kept awake by images of Clary, smiling down at him in a way that made his insides flop upside down in agitation that he could never have her.

All of the sudden he felt the need to see her, make sure that she was alright and unharmed, and before he could register what he was doing he was putting his coat and shoes on and had walked out of the door, headed to Luke's.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The moon shone, silently whispering in her head, taunting her, telling her over and over again, _wish whatever you want, but the truth will never be altered._ She was sighing, tossing, turning, all in succession, slowly driving herself mad in a way that was utterly impossible to defend against. The tears in her eyes made the walls shimmer with a pearly sheen, obscuring clear vision and giving everything a watery feel, similar to the course of her life.

Every since Jace had told her he would just be her brother she had retreated inside of herself, hoping to be able to block those feelings that were pushed deep down inside of her in an attempt to keep her from revealing her true feelings not just to Jace but to everyone around them. Life had seemed to turn grey, colour draining out of it as if Jace was the vital supply of it and without whom she found no meaning to everyday actions, but despaired for something that would put everything back to normal, where she lived with her mother, Luke was over all the time and she had minimal contact with the shadow hunter world. She sighed, knowing this was impossible. Impossible because it was who she was, she was a shadow hunter; it was in her blood, the one thing she couldn't change no matter how desperately she wanted to. It was impossible because even if her mother never found out that she knew who she was and what she was, Clary could never forget, and didn't think that she could lie to her mom in such a way. It was also impossible because Clary knew that ever since the day that they met, there was no way that Jace would never be in her life, and she never wanted him to leave it.

When he had told her that he was going to refrain from any feelings that might not be brotherly Clary felt like she had been spat at, mocked by the gods, if there were any. _If this is your idea of a joke this isn't funny_, she said in her mind, unprepared for the answer that soon resounded in her head, making it feel as if she was a giant bell, her insides banging around inside of her so violently that she was surprised that she didn't throw up. _Dear Clarissa, if only your mother had not taken you away from me, you wouldn't be in this situation, loving your brother in a way that isn't very angelic? _The violent movement of fear in her stomach made her feel queasy, and the voice chuckled as it said, _physically sick at the sound of me, tut tut, what are we going to do with you Clarissa? At least your brother has the decency to pretend I am just a figment of the imagination, rather than throw up like some disgusting Downworlder._

Rage boiled up inside of Clary, _My best friend is a Downworlder! _Had she had time to think about what she was doing Clary would have probably realised that she was having an argument with her father, inside her head, and the sheer ridiculousness of the situation would have astounded her. However in less than a second Valentine's reply rang in her head, _To be fair, you didn't know what he would become when you met him, but you really should lose this one particular disgusting habit of yours, hanging around Downworlders that is. _

This angered Clary further, igniting a flame of fury deep inside of her, and she was just about to let loose her thoughts on her father's suggestion/command, when she heard a tap on her window. She froze, the anger in her body being replaced by fear and adrenaline, and as she stepped over to the window, the source of the noise, she couldn't help but feel her breathing increase, it coming in short puffs of fear as she approached the window. _It couldn't be Valentine, his approach is much more violent, _she thought, trying to reassure herself.

She leaned over the window, expecting to see some type of demon, waiting to pounce on her, but was surprised to find someone entirely different standing outside her window.

"Jace?!" she exclaimed, astonished by the sight of him, having previously thought that he wanted almost nothing to do with her. His obvious avoidance of her did nothing to help the cause.

The subject of Jace's thoughts stood right in front of him, looking down on him as if she hadn't expected to see him, which, he realised, was a reasonable reaction.

They stood there, staring at each other, taking it all in, neither of them able to move, an invisible spell having been placed over them, which neither wanted to break. Finally, upon noticing Clary shivering because of the cold air blowing in through the open window Jace asked,

"Do you mind if I come in?"

To which Clary shook her head and indicated for him to go around to the front door, leaving him sweating outside, despite the cool air, as she slowly and thoughtfully unlocked the door. The door creaked open and she let Jace in, wondering what he could possibly be doing here in the middle of the night, all the while ignoring the sound of malicious chuckling that could be heard, deep inside her mind.


	3. Chapter 3

Our Cards 3

The atmosphere in the room could be described as tense, and that was using it in the lightest sense of the word. Clary and Jace sat facing each other in the living room, neither knowing what to say, and they probably wouldn't have said it any way, too aware how badly the whole situation put them on edge. They stood there for a while never blinking as they looked into each other's eyes, trying to gage what the other one was thinking. Jace was the one to break the spell, unable to stare at her for any longer, worried of what he might unconsciously say to her while he was in this trance.

The sound of the clock ticking in the hallway was reminiscent of a bomb, unstable, unsustainable and unpredictable, a synonym to Clary and Jace's Relationship. There was a noise in Luke's bedroom, almost as if he was awake and warning them to watch themselves or the barrier between them would fall down and nothing would stop them from following their desires. But that was unlikely, seeing as if Luke knew about Clary and Jace's attraction, they would have moved away and he would have forbid Clary from seeing Jace, agreeing with society on this one occasion.

The rustling brought Jace and Clary back to earth and the uncomfortable silence lessened as both teens were caught up analysing their previous thoughts.

'Would you like something to eat?' asked Clary, eager to play the polite hostess and even more eager to leave the hostility in the living room. To her relief he nodded and walked into the kitchen ahead of her.

She made him some coffee and toast, and before long they were sitting in another uncomfortable silence, the quiet only broken by the sound of drinks being gulped down throats. Eventually Clary felt the need for something, anything, to happen, and before she knew what she was doing said,

'Jace-', while, at the same time Jace murmured,

'Clary...' The two stopped speaking abruptly, surprised by the other's decision to finally break the silence. They laughed, but it was edged with the feeling that they were treading on ice, one misstep and they would go plunging down into the icy cold water bellow their feet. Clary nodded at Jace to go on, allowing him to speak his mind while she thought about what she needed to say.

'Clary, there is some things that I have to say, and if you don't agree with it then just say so and I will leave you alone, but please, just hear me out.' There was a pleading tone to his voice at the end of this statement and Clary's heart almost broke because of the obvious pain on his face.

'Ever since we met, I have felt this undeniable attraction towards you, bringing me closer and closer to you until I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to turn back, and then we found out that we were brother and sister and needless to say that wasn't a happy day, but I didn't care at the time. I told myself that if we loved each other then the world would somehow make it alright, and it took a lot before I finally let you convince me that our fates, who we were, is unchangeable, and that by doing what I would love, I would be hurting those around me. So, I decided to distance myself from you, believing that I wouldn't feel as strongly about you if you weren't there, but that back-fired and I just miss you more than ever. I guess what I am trying to say is that I am totally, and completely head over heels about you and that if you feel disgusted just say so and I can go back to being just your older brother, or I can leave you alone completely, but I had to tell you.'

There was a stunned silence in the room; Clary's face a mask of shock, her thoughts stopped clean by his revelation, speechless, mouth open like a goldfish. Jace flushed, looking away glum, and Clary felt a rush of warmth over her body, contentment and happiness filling her soul until she felt like honey. She smiled at Jace as he looked embarrassed; laughing at the fact that Jace Wayland/Morgenstern the great Shadowhunter was bashful. Upon hearing her giggling Jace turned back to her, slightly hurt that she was laughing at his plight. When he saw her face though he was surprised, he expected to see repulsion and mockery highlighted on her features, instead she exhibited a look of bliss draped across her face. Opening his mouth to say something Clary jumped forwards and took his face in her hands with a force that you would not have expected from someone as slight as Clary. She whispered slowly,

'Well it is lucky that I am head over heels for you two, 'because I don't think that I could deal with Alec and Isabelle coming after me with complaints about your mood all the time.' And having said these words she placed her lips on his, gently, as if testing the waters before diving right in.

Their kiss was slow. They revelled in the way that warmth spread through their bodies simultaneously, as the feelings that they had been suppressing for weeks came flooding to the surface. Jace smirked against her, obviously back to his old cocky self, and Clary laughed out loud at this, surrendering to the happiness that was threatening to consume her. They rested their foreheads on each other, the silence now one of contentment rather than awkwardness, and they would have stayed like that for a long time had they not heard Luke's early morning grumbling, and quickly sprang away from each other as if a wall of flames now separated the two.

Luke walked into the kitchen to find not one but two teenagers already awake, cheeks burning and breath coming out of their mouths heavily, as if they had been running for a long time.

'Jace! What are you doing here?' with a harsh look at Clary, daring her to try and explain the early morning visit.

'Oh, I was just in the neighbourhood and thought that I would stop by,' he responded, an air of defiance exuding from him as it always did when he was around adults who thought they knew better than him. Knowing that he was going to get no better answer from either Clary or Jace he sighed,

'Well then, would you like to stay for breakfast seeing as you are already here and the institute is a long ways away?'

'I'd love to Luke,' he smiled, and Luke didn't miss the secretive smirk that passed between Jace and Clary as he turned around.


End file.
